Primarily a collection of news links about all 10 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

News On The Horizon 6/5/2012

The Aussie is a 3-point specialist who can also do work on the interior. He took roughly half his shots from beyond the arc (making 39%), made 60% of his 2s, rarely turned the ball over, made it to the line 4.5 times a game, and played 81% of the team's minutes.
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10. Alec Brown - Wisconsin Green Bay

The 7-1 stick thin Brown makes this list due to his rebounding and shot blocking. He was elite in both those categories, and while he only shot 47% from the field, he did make over 77% of his free throws.

7. Anton Grady, Cleveland State (MM+)
A Cleveland product who stayed home, Grady led the Horizon league in defensive rebounding rate and was an effective scorer in the post. He ranked in the top 10 nationally in block rate among freshmen. Foul problems kept him from demonstrating it in the counting stats, but he was as good a scorer as the Vikings had (no small accomplishment) and he crashed the glass and played great interior defense.

It was down to 73-68 after three, and the Heat tied it for the first time when James' layup made it 74-all with 8:54 remaining. Norris Cole's layup on the next possession gave Miami the lead for the first time and it stayed tight from there.

A 13-1 run by the Heat spanning the third and four quarters sliced the Celtics lead to nothing. With 8:45 remaining in the game, the Heat tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. The Celtics called a timeout but its offense continued to sputter. Meanwhile, the Heat got a boost from an unlikely source, Norris Cole.

With Mario Chalmers in foul trouble, Cole entered the game with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. He gave the Heat its first lead of the game with 8:23 left and then put the Heat ahead 78-76 with 7:41 left in the game.

• Spoelstra said not using Miller in the second half of Game 4 was a “lineup decision” and unrelated to Miller’s back issues. Spoelstra opted instead for more of Norris Cole, “who gave us some good minutes,” and Jones. Spoelstra said Miller will play in Game 5.

Bosh made and immediate impact, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds in 10 minutes in the first half. His driving layup off a pick and roll from Norris Cole got the crowd going. Bosh drew a foul and converted the basket before jackknifing both arms high over his head and swing them down in celebration. Screaming into the stands, Bosh’s recognizable wide mouth reminded everyone at AmericanAirlines Arena of his importance to the team.

But at the start of the fourth, it was the Heat who made the first big little play. Heat guard Norris Cole’s stat line included zeros in field goals made, free throws taken and points early in the fourth quarter when Heat guard James Jones lost the ball with the Heat down 70-67. Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo scooped up the ball and raced off toward a fast break layup.

But Cole chased down Rondo and did a little George Teague-on-Lamar Thomas thievery. A U-turn with the ball and Cole began a possession that ended with a Dwyane Wade rebound layup.

That ignited an 11-2 run that seemed to be rolling toward a 3-2 series lead, with the Heat up 78-72.

Bryce Drew (coach: Valparaiso; player: Valparaiso): No historical introductions needed here. If you've ever seen more than a few minutes of the NCAA tournament, you've seen Bryce Drew's legendary shot, simply known as "The Shot," because it needs no further clarification. But Drew was far from a one-trick college hoops pony. He also led Valpo to three straight Mid-Continent regular-season and conference tournament titles. When he returned to take over his father Homer Drew's program last season, he arrived as the school's all-time leader in points, assists and 3-point field goals. The dude could always cook.